The SBCC men’s cross country team celebrates its program-best seventh-place finish at the state championships in Fresno.
SBCC’s Alex Heuchert finished fourth in the CCCAA State Men’s Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.
The sophomore from San Marcos High covered the 4-mile course in 20:20. His time was the fastest ever by a Vaquero on the Woodward course, which hosts the State Meet every year. Heuchert earned All-American honors.
The Vaqueros posted their highest finish ever, taking seventh out of 28 teams.
Ryan Sorenson was 28th in 20:58 and Bradley Apodaca, Martin Montes and Adam Grimmitt placed 59th, 61st and 63rd, respectively, in a field of 213 runners.
Canyons won the title with 79 points, followed by American River (86) and Orange Coast (157). The Vaqueros were seventh with 215 points. Diego Leon of Hartnell was the individual champion in 20:10. Heuchert finished just 10 seconds behind.
“What a great team effort,” said coach Scott Fickerson. “We got into the top 10, which was our goal. Our team spread (time between 1st and 4th runners) was 1:19, which was the best of the year.
“This was a great way to finish a great season.”
The SBCC women ran their fastest time of the season and took 13th place.
The Vaqueros turned in a combined time of 100 minutes, 50 seconds on the 5K course. Mt. San Antonio won the title with 78 points, followed by Canyons (104) and Glendale (109).
Michaela Dahringer led the Vaqueros, taking 54th in a personal-best 19:45 in a field of 197 runners. Dean Roell was three seconds behind in 57th. Kylie Walker was 84th in 20:17.
Aminat Olowora of Southwestern set a course record with her winning time of 17:00.
It was the best combined State finish (SBCC’s men placed 7th) for Vaquero coach Scott Fickerson in his seven seasons.
“We ran our fastest time of the year and it was our No. 2 time ever on the Woodward Park course (which hosts the State each year),” noted Fickerson. “We were 12th in the So Cal Regional and 10 th today among So Cal teams, so we improved by two spots.
“We ran really close as a group with only a 45-second spread between our first and fourth scorers. It was a great team effort.”
MEN
State Championships
At Woodward Park, Fresno
Team (28 schools) – 1, Mt. SAC 78. 2, Canyons 104. 3, Glendale 109. 13, SBCC 388.
Individual (5K) – 1, Aminat Olowora, Southwestern, 17:00 (course record).
SBCC results – 54, Michaela Dahringer 19:45. 57, Dean Roell 19:48. 84, Kylie Walker 20:17. 96, Cassie Everett 20:30. 97, Camille Schutz 20:30. 172, Carly Seidel 23:25.
WOMEN
State Championships
At Woodward Park, Fresno
Team (28 schools) – 1, Canyons 79. 2, American River 86. 3, Orange Coast 157. 4, Mt. SAC 170. 5, San Bernardino 202. 6, Cuesta 202. 7, SBCC 215. 8, Hartnell 234.
Individual (4 miles) – 1, Diego Leon, Hartnell, 20:10.
SBCC results – 4, Alex Heuchert 20:20. 28, Ryan Sorenson 20:58. 59, Bradley Apodaca 21:39. 61, Martin Montes 21:37. 63, Adam Grimmitt 21:39. 89, Patrick Lownes-Santos 21:59. 190, Matt Wells 25:23.
